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Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar (100 BC - 44 BC) was a famous Roman leader whose life is the main focus of the episode The Pax Romana. Julius Caesar's Name Is Not Julius Caesar! The famous Roman general Julius Caesar is not really called that. His praenomen, or first name, is Caius. Now, the Romans don’t have too many praenomina, about twenty, but not much more. Besides Caius, there are Aulus, Decimus, Faustus, Lucius, Marcus, Quintus, Tiberius, etc. They also use Secundus if the child is the second in the family. Julius is his nomen, or family name (more precisely, this one is named the gens Julia, or Julii family). In addition, each branch of a Roman family has a cognomen, or nickname. The cognomen of the Julii branch to which the victor of the Gallic Wars belongs is Caesar. The victor of the Gallic Wars is therefore officially called Caius Julius Caesar (or KIE-yoos YOO-lee-oos CHE-zar as pronounced in Latin!). To name to a Roman girl, the father uses the nomen or cognomen of his family, in the feminine form. For example, the daughter of the great writer Cicero (in Latin, Marcus Tullius Cicero) was named Tullia. When there are several Caius’ and Tullia’s in the family, it is likely that the Romans, to know who they are talking about, use cognomina like Crassus (meaning “fat”), Severus (meaning “harsh”), Magnus (meaning “great”), and… why no cognomen for “dwarf”?! The Julian Calendar Before Julius Caesar, the Romans used the so-called Roman calendar. But the use of this time-counting system was complicated and gave rise to certain problems. Indeed, as time passed, the calendar was more and more out of sync with the rate of rotation of the Earth around the Sun. Thus, in the year 46 BC, Julius Caesar, as high priest (Pontifex Maximus), has decided to install a new calendar. The latter, known as the Julian calendar, came into force in 45 BC (however, in order to make up for the delay in the Earth’s journey by the Roman calendar, which was about to be abandoned, the previous year lasted 445 days!). This new timetable is undeniable progress: for the most part, it adds an extra day, Leap Day, every four years because the solar year is approximately 365¼ days. However, the Julian calendar will still delay a little compared to the rotation of the Earth. By 1582, this delay will amount to ten days. Pope Gregory XIII will then create a new calendar… the Gregorian, of course! Most European countries will adopt it. But, there is very little difference between these two calendars. The Ides of March On March 15, 44 BC, Julius Caesar was warned of a conspiracy to kill him, but he did not think that his friend Brutus would dare attack him. He was wrong. A group of senators stabbed him multiple times, and he fought back until he saw Brutus among the group. "Et tu, Brute?" he asked before covering himself with his robe, allowing Brutus to stab him. Thus perished Julius Caesar at the age of 56. Category:Historical Figures Category:Ancient Rome Category:Generals Category:Emperors Category:Characters